Sandra Hauswirth

Sandra M. Hauswirth is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Utrecht University's Department of Physical Geography within the Faculty of Geosciences. Her work focuses on drought dynamics, hydrological modeling, and machine learning applications in environmental science. She is a core member of the Recover project, developing global-scale hybrid groundwater models to analyze drought recovery drivers, and previously led a joint PhD project with Rijkswaterstaat on drought impacts using machine learning. Her expertise bridges global climate modeling and local water management challenges.

• Education: Master's in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from ETH Zürich (2018).
• Key Projects:
  • Recover Project (2024–2029): Predicting drought duration and mitigation strategies using adaptive water management models.
  • Smart Water Management Project (2020–2023): Quantifying drought impacts via machine learning and climate ensembles.

Research Interests: Hydrological drought modeling, machine learning integration in environmental systems, climate change impacts on water resources, and remote sensing applications for land degradation analysis. Her work emphasizes bridging global climate data with local water management solutions, particularly in the Netherlands.

Publications & Activities: Over 15 peer-reviewed articles since 2021, focusing on drought drivers, machine learning for vegetation modeling, and hydrological extremes. Active presenter at AGU, EGU, and HydroML conferences. Featured in media discussions on drought management and AI applications.

Affiliations: Member of the Drought Research Network Netherlands Committee (since 2023) and former DPG PhD Council member (2020–2022).